The end is near...

[2centsworth]

if we don't wake up. Dems have got to stop playing the class warfare BS and the Reps have got to stop being such hypocrites.

REQUIRED VIEWING:

www.iousathemovie.com


for those that question my crystal ball please visit http://www.spurstalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=106583&highlight=economic+crystal+ball

[boutons_]

Dems? What exactly class warfare have the Dems engaged in that isn't in reaction to the wealthy/corp/capitalist war on the bottom 95%?

It's Repugs who have ripped off taxpayer $$ and country's future for Iraq, for the bailout, etc, etc.

Dems? GMAFB

[2centsworth]

Dems? What exactly class warfare have the Dems engaged in that isn't in reaction to the wealthy/corp/capitalist war on the bottom 95%?

It's Repugs who have ripped off taxpayer $$ and country's future for Iraq, for the bailout, etc, etc.

Dems? GMAFB

thank you for illustrating the point.:toast


now for the rest of you, please watch the non-partisan video.

[DarkReign]

BradLohas Forum

[boutons_]

I don't have 30 minutes for a vid. Is there a transcript?

[2centsworth]

BradLohas Forum

watch the clip it. We may be watching the end of the Roman Empire right before our eyes.

[DarkReign]

Very good so far (15 mins in).

It still hasnt offered solutions, which seems to be the trend with these crisis videos.

Oh, I wholly admit that our economic collapse is inevitable at our current rate.

But unless someone comes up with a way to fix this, we're just an audience to our own demise.

You kill all social programs (SS, Medicaid, Medicare), you kill dead weight in the Pentagon (DHS comes to mind), you reduce military spending and you temporarily raise taxes.

Sure, people are going to be very pissed off and rightfully so. But I guess theyre OK with killing future Americans in the name of their entitlement programs. Its called culling the herd. Those who primarily lean on welfare/ss/etc will probably die a lonely, bankrupt death, this is true.

But after the books are balanced, new Constitutional Amendment must be drafted and ratified to preclude these circumstances from ever happening again. What is that exact language? I could think of a few...

Bah, what the hell am I thinking, lets burn this motherfucker down. Its the American Way.

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y23/drsanity/bradley-clock-talking-strangelove.jpg

[2centsworth]

Very good so far (15 mins in).

It still hasnt offered solutions, which seems to be the trend with these crisis videos.

Oh, I wholly admit that our economic collapse is inevitable at our current rate.

But unless someone comes up with a way to fix this, we're just an audience to our own demise.

You kill all social programs (SS, Medicaid, Medicare), you kill dead weight in the Pentagon (DHS comes to mind), you reduce military spending and you temporarily raise taxes.

Sure, people are going to be very pissed off and rightfully so. But I guess theyre OK with killing future Americans in the name of their entitlement programs. Its called culling the herd. Those who primarily lean on welfare/ss/etc will probably die a lonely, bankrupt death, this is true.

But after the books are balanced, new Constitutional Amendment must be drafted and ratified to preclude these circumstances from ever happening again. What is that exact language? I could think of a few...

Bah, what the hell am I thinking, lets burn this motherfucker down. Its the American Way.

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y23/drsanity/bradley-clock-talking-strangelove.jpg

I have a long list of solutions, but I don't think we have the political will.

[DarkReign]

Ok, just finished it.

As expected, no answers.

[DarkReign]

I have a long list of solutions, but I don't think we have the political will.

Yes, well, its too bad we dont live in a dictatorship isnt it?

[101A]

Raise the SS retirement age by 3 years.

Immediately.

[doobs]

The end is nigh!

To me, one of the biggest threats to our democracy is the unequal burden sharing. One man, one vote . . . but what about shared responsibilities? I think democracy is strengthened if there is a basic alignment of rights and responsibilities. If everyone has the same rights, shouldn't everyone bear roughly the same responsibilities for preserving and strenthening our democracy?

Here's a funny saying about democracy: "democracy is two wolves and one lamb voting on what to have for dinner." We live in a country where a substantial portion of the public--about 30%--pays no federal income taxes. Under Obama, that number will rise to above 40%. So, in all likelihood, nearly half of the country will soon be paying NOTHING in federal income taxes. What incentive is there for these people to NOT spend our country into oblivion? They're just trying to "get theirs" at no cost to themselves.

[word]

Very good so far (15 mins in).

It still hasnt offered solutions, which seems to be the trend with these crisis videos.



The solution is medicair/medicaid and SS....seeya'...no way we can sustain that through the boomer years.

[2centsworth]

Yes, well, its too bad we dont live in a dictatorship isnt it?

remember that was the 30 minute abbreviated version. Here is a list of solutions:

1. Allow the younger generation to opt out of social security immediately. Then regulate where that money can go much like most government agency 429 plans. I would plow it in this undervalued market.

2. HealthCare vouchers today! regulate that those vouchers buy basic care. This allows us to eliminate medicare/medicaid.

3. Allow Private Investment Accounts in to the SBA. Allow each individual a $25,000 tax deductible contribution to the SBA that earns interest/equity.

4. Strategically raise taxes. For instance, raise Medicare taxes a few percent, but noticeable so everyone can see the problem.

[BradLohaus]

I saw that video a few months ago; it's very good.

The only answer in the end is to cut spending because eventually, and I'm pretty sure the video mentions this, the interest on the debt alone will be greater than the revenues to the government.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/6/64/GAO_Slide.png

That may not happen for a long time, but that chart shows that at some point in the 2030s the entitlement spending plus interest on the debt alone will be more than government revenues. Now look at this chart concerning the growth in unfunded liabilities:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/c/c7/Unfunded_commitments.png

If that trend comes anywhere close to continuing then we will be living in a fiscal disaster long before the 2030s.... more like the 2020s, or sooner.

[jochhejaam]

Ok, just finished it.

As expected, no answers.

(watched the video)

Raise taxes, raise the SS tax to 10% (that's the current rate I"m paying for my pension, PERS), cut all entitlement programs, military spending across the board by 10 percent.

Before raising taxes, require our political leaders to come up with the same plan for viability that they are asking the CEO's of the auto industry to come up with.


Raiding the SS account should never have happened, how the heck did they ever get away with that?


Oh, and put non-partisan women in charge of every facet of the economy, men, in large part, have shown themselves to be an untrustworthy bunch of corrupt, greedy self-serving, cheating scoundrels (help me out if I've missed something).



Maybe Obama can buy another half-hour of prime-time and air this video, with an "I am President-elect Barack Obama, and I approve of this message".

[Wild Cobra]

Dems? What exactly class warfare have the Dems engaged in that isn't in reaction to the wealthy/corp/capitalist war on the bottom 95%?

It's Repugs who have ripped off taxpayer $$ and country's future for Iraq, for the bailout, etc, etc.

Dems? GMAFB
You're so brainwashed, I don't think you would ever understand.

[cool hand]

if we don't wake up. Dems have got to stop playing the class warfare BS and the Reps have got to stop being such hypocrites.

REQUIRED VIEWING:

www.iousathemovie.com


for those that question my crystal ball please visit http://www.spurstalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=106583&highlight=economic+crystal+ball



the assholes with all the money need to stop trying to take money from the taxpayers first......then the class warfare will stop.....fuckhead.

[Wild Cobra]

the assholes with all the money need to stop trying to take money from the taxpayers first......then the class warfare will stop.....fuckhead.
Do you realize how silly that is?

40% of the tax filers pay no federal income tax. It's these same people that complain about the rich.]

It's not because of the rich trying to take from tax payers. It's jealousy of low-life’s

[Winehole23]

It's not because of the rich trying to take from tax payers. It's jealousy of low-life’sWho's winning the class war (http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/26/business/yourmoney/26every.html) anyway?

[Tully365]

I searched around yesterday for an old newspaper clipping that I once had, quoting Ronald Reagan in 1979 during the presidential race against Carter-- in it he says that Carter should be ashamed of himself, being the leader of the wealthiest country on earth, but still having a budget deficit of around 80 billion dollars. He used this as an example of the out-of-control spending mindset. And now, here we are nearly 30 years later, a time period in which the wealthiest country on earth has managed to spend 29 of 30 years indulging in deficit spending, including the year following the one single surplus year being characterized by sending out millions of checks to its citizen to "return" the surplus. Unbelievable.

[spurster]

We live in a country where a substantial portion of the public--about 30%--pays no federal income taxes. Under Obama, that number will rise to above 40%. So, in all likelihood, nearly half of the country will soon be paying NOTHING in federal income taxes. What incentive is there for these people to NOT spend our country into oblivion? They're just trying to "get theirs" at no cost to themselves.

The usual BS from people who focus on one tax and don't look at the total tax burden. Anyone who works pays SS tax, sales tax, property tax directly or indirectly, gasoline tax, etc. Those don't count apparently.

[Nbadan]

Don't forget that those paying taxes are also taking home about 80% of the total income in the U.S. ...

[SnakeBoy]

Relax people, that video was before the age of Obama. Obama has directed his economic team to fix everything. All is well now.

[Wild Cobra]

Who's winning the class war (http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/26/business/yourmoney/26every.html) anyway?

Good question. When you take SS/Medicare out of the article's equation, the rich do pay more as a percentage. Let's keep each category separate. The payroll taxes are in reality an insurance. Most people who don't pay into them are not qualified to collect them. The rich don't need to pay into them for that reason.

And how long are we going to continue the War on Poverty? What's our exit strategy? have we moved the line yet? As I see it, it's a complete failure. We still have a large percentage of people living in poverty.

I have stated in the past that we need to change the way we pay payroll taxes and what they mean because the federal government treats it as regular taxes to be spent. Find a place to fix the tax tables, preferable as they were done in the 80's with a 28% marginal rate cap. Rename the SS/Medicare taxes, at the 7.65% rate, a Social Tax. This tax is maintained like it is, at least for the most part. Every income bracket pays. If politicians want more taxes or less, this is the rate that is change. It affects everyone so that the poor are not salivating at raising the taxes on the rich.

[spurster]

Ok, I actually watched the thing. It seems we've already done the correct first step by kicking the Republicans out of government.

[ElNono]

Good question. When you take SS/Medicare out of the article's equation, the rich do pay more as a percentage. Let's keep each category separate. The payroll taxes are in reality an insurance. Most people who don't pay into them are not qualified to collect them. The rich don't need to pay into them for that reason.

It's a tax. That's not being paid by the rich is a different story altogether.


And how long are we going to continue the War on Poverty? What's our exit strategy? have we moved the line yet? As I see it, it's a complete failure. We still have a large percentage of people living in poverty. I have stated in the past that we need to change the way we pay payroll taxes and what they mean because the federal government treats it as regular taxes to be spent. Find a place to fix the tax tables, preferable as they were done in the 80's with a 28% marginal rate cap. Rename the SS/Medicare taxes, at the 7.65% rate, a Social Tax. This tax is maintained like it is, at least for the most part. Every income bracket pays. If politicians want more taxes or less, this is the rate that is change. It affects everyone so that the poor are not salivating at raising the taxes on the rich.

And what do we do with the poor? Do we just let them die and rot in the streets?

[ElNono]

Relax people, that video was before the age of Obama. Obama has directed his economic team to fix everything. All is well now.

We know.